Nurture Me Alliance

We are a Network of University Researchers Teaming Together to Unpack, Understand, and Respond to Educational Issues in Early Intervention Focusing on Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and Educational Equity. Whew! That’s a mouthful. You can just call us the Nurture Me Alliance. We are friends and colleagues from five different universities who are committed to advancing educational effectiveness through team science and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Vision

Our vision is to transform early educational systems so every child benefits from multi-tiered supports designed to maximize academic and social-emotional outcomes, foster equitable opportunities for school success, promote health and wellness, and reduce preventable disabilities.

Mission

To actualize this vision, we have formed an alliance among interdisciplinary researchers to conduct collaborative and complementary research that advances evidence-based practice in early childhood multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS).

MTSS Pyramid

Trina D. Spencer

Trina D. Spencer, PhD, BCBA-D,
University of South Florida

Elizabeth S. Kelley

Elizabeth S. Kelley, PhD, CCC-SLP,
University of Missouri

Alisha Wackerle-Holman, PhD, NCSP

Alisha Wackerle-Holman, PhD, NCSP,
University of Minnesota

Lillian Duran

Lillian Durán, PhD,
University of Oregon

Kathleen Artman Meeker, PhD

Kathleen Artman Meeker, PhD,
University of Washington

Matthew Foster

Matthew Foster, PhD,
University of South Florida

Process Objectives

  • Leverage individual and shared expertise to develop tools for integrating systems of support across academic and behavioral domains.
  • Adopt a collaborative, coordinated approach to research that facilitates the use of common methods across communities.
  • Work in partnership with key stake holders to determine characteristics of scalable interventions that ‘fit’ various contexts.

Community Objectives

  • Identify facilitators and barriers to the installation, implementation, and sustainment of MTSS in early childhood settings.
  • Develop comprehensive, generalizable, and scalable strategies and tools for promoting high fidelity implementation.
  • Disseminate knowledge and resources that enhance access to and the quality of universal strategies for all young children.

Behavioral Objectives

  • Establish a track record of collaboration through presentations, publications, and grant submissions.
  • Establish a mechanism to strategically communicate within our alliance and to the larger community.
  • Employ common tools across multiple sites and studies to maximize the knowledge gained as well as the generality of findings.
  • Use principles of implementation science to promote and test an integrated, evidenced-based model of early childhood MTSS.